First Nature feeders are the only ones I use since discovering them. The resevoir opening is wide enough to easily clean them, unlike every other bottle-type I've ever owned. My only complaint is that the top plate of the base has oval holes which are much larger than necessary for hummingbirds to drink from. This allows wasps and bees to almost fully crawl inside. You can spend time super-gluing floss or monofilament fishing line across the holes to discourage wasps, or the company itself offers "bee-guard" replacement piece for that top portion of the dish. Those holes are smaller and round on that replacement dish cover, and they are designed to hold little snap-on yellow plastic flowers like those you see on most other feeders. I haven't seen the replacement basin lids offered on Amazon, so you would have to contact www.firstnature.com to order them, or purchase one of the models that come with the little yellow flowers. About those YELLOW bee-guard plastic flowers... Whoever manufactures them must be unaware or indifferant to the fact that the color Yellow ATTRACTS WASPS. So despite being unable to crawl into the basin area, wasps still try to do so. I have spray-painted all of my flowers (in use) white using Krylon Fusion for Plastic. (The paint Must be designed to adhere to plastic if you follow this route.) My guess is that they are colored yellow because it is believed that humans will find it more attractive, and little thought is given beyond that idea. Speaking of thoughtlessness... DO NOT ORDER OR USE RED COLORED NECTAR. The red dye hurts hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are SMART, and the red coloration of the feeders themselves are enough to get their attention. And they remember where they are / were, from year to year. The red dye is appealing to humans, but it is BAD for hummingbirds. Save money and make your own nectar. 1 cup of water to 1/4 cup of sugar. You can mix it in boiling water, or mix it cold. Unless you have iffy water, the boiling just serves to make the sugar dissolve a little bit easier. Cleaning: The plastic reservoir is Not Dishwasher Safe. The heat will melt or warp them. The feeder should be cleaned regularly, as you will notice that black mildew or algae will begin growing in various areas if you don't. I do a quick brush-out of the reservoir and both pieces of the receiving dish base each time I replace the nectar. I use hot tap-water and a soapy brush which I bought for that purpose; just be sure to rinse very well. Every few weeks, or sooner if I start seeing mildew, I will soak all parts in the sink for about :15 minutes or so using hot tap-water, soap, and a little bleach. If you purchase the bee guards, you need to remove them regularly and clean the black mildew from beneath them and from the holes themselves. You will need to purchase a tiny brush to clean the holes. I use a Droll Yankees Hummingbird Feeder Brush found on Amazon @Droll Yankees Hummingbird Feeder Brush, Small Cleaning Brushes, Perfect Little Brush PLB, 3.5 Inches, 3 Pack if anyone is curious. Remember to change the nectar very regularly, as it will start to ferment or go rancid, which is bad for the hummers. If you are putting up a feeder for the first time, you might opt to get a smaller size than the 32 ounce feeder I am reviewing.First Nature 3051 Hummingbird Feeder, 16-Ounce This is the link to the 16 oz feeder. If you do purchase the 32 ounce, don't bother with fully filling it until / unless you start getting regular visitors and see that the fluid level starts dropping rapidly. There is no use in dumping a lot of unused nectar if you don't have to when you change it out. When you do change it, however, you might consider pouring it into a dish or a pie tin (weighted with a rock) if you have butterflies around. The butterflies will appreciate the meal, and the rock will (theoretically) allow them to gain access to it without swimming in it, and it will prevent the pie tin from blowing away in a strong wind. Be aware, though, this can also attract ants, so be mindful about where you place such a dish. A water moat can defend against ants. *An ant-guard water-moat cup is also a purchasable option to hang your feeder from. I useFirst Nature 993306-512 Ant Barrier, Red but you have to provide your own hooks. It is made of hard plastic, and in some climates or in frequent direct sunlight, plastic might not be the best option. There are more expensive metal moats on Amazon, if you're interested. I would avoid the non-moat ant-guards as they rely on you spreading vaseline into an area to deter ants, and that just becomes messy and difficult to clean. So why do I put so much effort into such a review? Because I love my hummingbird friends, and I've been feeding them for years. Last year (2017) I had up 3 Nature First feeders, 1 32-ounce and 2 16-ounce. I had 12 regular visitors throughout the spring and summer, and a number of those birds were fledglings. I live in San Antonio, Texas. Hummingbirds are very territorial, within their own species, so I made sure to have several feeders out in different areas to make it easier for all to feed before a possessive bird would chase off a competitor. If you have never watched hummingbirds, you're in for a treat when you witness their ariel acrobatics and chittering at one another. (Until I discovered otherwise, I would have sworn that George Lucas had used the sound of hummingbird wings as a basis of Star Wars lightsaber sound effects.) Fall migrations will usually bring in extra guests for awhile, and hummingbirds will remember where they found feeders in years past. The ease of cleaning this feeder is what has really sold me on them. If you've ever tried to clean a narrow-mouthed feeder bottle, you'll understand. I wish more thought went into the too-large oval sipping-ports, but the ease of cleaning outweighs that shortcoming. To close this novella, a reminder: Don't buy or feed Red Dye Nectar... Red Die Nectar is Bad for hummingbirds.
